glorat Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 I'm a newbie who's just got past day 4 on his Ninebot One C. I bought shin pads which were totally invaluable. I bought all the rollerblade protective gear - wrists, elbows, knees. However, that protective gear hasn't done much. Over 4 days, only the wrist guard got used pushing against an incoming wall. My method of self-preservation is simply to hop off the EUC when I'm about to lose control so that I end up standing and the EUC skids off on its side (or hopefully I can usually catch it). Thus the main hazard to myself these days is taking a poor dismount whereby I try to step off the paddle but the inside of my ankle clips the outside of the paddle. I've picked up so many bruises on my ankles like this! I even somehow managed to pick up a giant bruise on the outside of my ankle with a dodgy dismount. Does this happen to other people too? How do you protect yourself from this? Does sufficient skill make this very unlikely in the future? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowMo Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Sorry to hear about your bruises. It happens most of the time when people lose their balance and make a sudden dismount. I bought this ankle support from Aliexpress before when I was still learning. You can use a similar type to cushion your ankles. http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/6933174923.html?orderId=69494474237746 You need to practice the method wherein you twist the wheel to the direction where you feel you are leaning to. Here is the thread started by our admin @John Eucist helping beginners on learning the dynamics of balancing. http://forum.electricunicycle.org/topic/1707-how-to-ride-an-electric-unicycle-underlying-dynamics-physics-and-technique-for-beginners/#comment-17957 Also, here's an excellent instructional video made by @Jason McNeil which might assist you: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorat Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 Thanks for the advice. Those videos are really useful for learning! There should probably be a sticky post with the best learning videos and tips like this... all the good stuff tends to be scattered. I'm improving fast so hopefully not so many sudden dismounts coming - although I feel this will always be a fact of life that accidents can happen. Looks like that is traditional ankle support rather than padding. But if that was actually enough for you... I should probably try repurposing the wrist wraps I had from boxing and see about putting those around my ankles to see if that gives enough help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ipedalmine Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 I ride an IPS 191 which has very poor padding. I normally wear knee pads pulled low around my ankles. Works great, and is not visible if you pull your pants cuff over the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowMo Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 20 minutes ago, glorat said: Thanks for the advice. Those videos are really useful for learning! There should probably be a sticky post with the best learning videos and tips like this... all the good stuff tends to be scattered. I'm improving fast so hopefully not so many sudden dismounts coming - although I feel this will always be a fact of life that accidents can happen. Looks like that is traditional ankle support rather than padding. But if that was actually enough for you... I should probably try repurposing the wrist wraps I had from boxing and see about putting those around my ankles to see if that gives enough help. Yes you can try your wrist wraps around your ankles which could act as dampeners. Heres another training video from Solowheel showing the twisting technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA2dnxamzQ8 Also try to practice making circles and figure 8's which will speed up your learning process. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFP9 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Thick socks and hi-top shoes have been the only thing saving my ankles. As with anything, practice, practice, practice.... Cheers, Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiasDePlaya Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Boots? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmethvin Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 After you've been riding a while your ankles don't get sore. I think it's a combination of better control and tougher ankles. Mostly the better control. As far as safety equipment, the longer you ride the faster you will feel like going. At some point you will be going fast enough that you can't run off a loss of control. That's when you're glad you have protection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 dmethvin is right. Shin/ankle pain is just something you get when learning. Once you can ride your shins and ankes barely make much contact with the EUC and it won't affect them at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorat Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 To be clear, my issue with ankles is not with the riding but from uncontrolled dismounts. When I "run off" due to loss of control, on occasion I'll clip the edge of the paddles with the inside of my ankle. That's pretty painful! Socks, wraps and sturdy boots all seem promising tries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 8 minutes ago, glorat said: To be clear, my issue with ankles is not with the riding but from uncontrolled dismounts. When I "run off" due to loss of control, on occasion I'll clip the edge of the paddles with the inside of my ankle. That's pretty painful! Socks, wraps and sturdy boots all seem promising tries. Once you get more experienced with your euc this won't happen. I used to have this problem alot when I first started out. The pedals would hit the insides of my ankles when I lose control and had to jump off. I started wearing high/mid top shoes when I rode. Still do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowMo Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 I also tried mid cut shoes but now that i'm quite familiar with my EUC's, I find it more comfortable to ride using Go Walk shoes. So just keep on practicing and you will get better with your Ninebot, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurgen Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Thick jeans + a folded sock inside your socks + and padding glued to you EUC. After a while the skin gets thicker, and it's only on the strong leg side that I put a folded sock in my sock, because it suffers during frequent mounting or when learning to ride on one leg (for the weak leg the padding on the EUC is enough) When you are no longer afraid to dismount you will no longer hit the pedals. Don't worry, pain boosts the learning curve of your 'muscle memory' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowMo Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 12 hours ago, Jurgen said: When you are no longer afraid to dismount you will no longer hit the pedals. Don't worry, pain boosts the learning curve of your 'muscle memory' I totally agree. When I was still learning, I had a stretched rib, a twisted ankle, my shin bones were hurting and I hit my ankle with the pedals. I also had fallen on my knees (with knee pads), had hurt my left wrist and my butt. That's when I thought of buying a butt support which I only used once because it was so itchy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drmrw Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Yeah I clipped my ankles plenty of times and beat the crap out of my inner lower legs while learning. After about 2 weeks no more bruises! The only thing that bothers me now is the bottoms of me feet start to hurt after a few miles, but that happens if you ride one of the original segways too. Practice going slow and starting and stopping. You'll get to the point where you can step off smoothly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 I used cheap bmx shin/knee protectors of of eBay. I cut the knee bit off and wore them low on my inner leg so that they covered my ankle bones. But you only need them for the first few weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Howell Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 I have been whacked a few times just under my left ankle buy the foot peddle same reason, but yesterday I got a big one just above the left ankle and it was so sore I couldn't lay my foot onto the mattress to sleep. Next ride I will try my hiking boots they are high top and padded ankle area, in the past I tried taping some rubber padding to the peddles but it just comes off from standing on it. Hopefully as we get better we will both stop getting hit by our machines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceFace Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Buy a cheap closed cell foam camping sleep mat (Karrimat) and cut out some rectangles. Stick these down your socks to wrap around your ankles. The foam is about 8mm thick so not too imposing. You can shape them up to fit more exactly around your shoe line, if you feel inclined. They won't take up much room in your pocket when you arrive at your destination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetricUSA Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Learning how to hop off without hurting yourself is good thing too, first 'know how to' is not jumping in front of the cycle, ever, but to slowing down as much as you can and then hop off the the back, the eu will go forward, at least as far as the end of the leash (safety belt).... Will help you with the most controlled fall messups, but if it starts to spinn....run.....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Raper Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 I think something like this would be a big help. http://www.ebay.com/itm/RockBros-Cycling-Knee-Pad-Calf-Guard-Leg-Protector-Sleeve-Shin-Pad-S-M-L-XL-/311497346417?hash=item4886b04d71:g:Zx8AAOSw3ydVrIQI Or this one from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WJQSO92?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Neegan Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 The problem with wearing bulkier clothing or a protective ankle brace is that it limits your mobility some, and in my experience has felt like it's in the way somehow. Baseball socks offer some level of protection if you can wear them under long pants. Not sure if you ever tried or heard of compression technology (under armor, etc) but its pretty solid. Great for people like me that rolled their ankles all their life too. It offers better protection than regular clothing without the bulk associated with pads or other guards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makoben Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 I read about several riders here who got whacked by their pedals resulting in some cuts and fractures. I looked closely at my pedals and noticed ninety degree sharp angles on the aluminum pedals. I took a 5" flap wheel and ground a nice radii on those edges. This could be accomplished with a metal file, just a little more work. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorat Posted March 2, 2016 Author Share Posted March 2, 2016 This thread is still alive! Just to follow it up then... In hindsight, the answer to my own question is simply to wear shoes that go up over your ankles - like half boots. I happened to have a pair and that gave me confidence. The above posters are also right that now that I'm experienced, the uncontrolled dismount is simply no longer an issue. I wear normal shoes and simply haven't clipped my ankles since my last post on this thread. I only wear shin pads on my inner calves for comfort when doing longer journeys or trying tricks but even for normal journeys, my ankles/shins don't take any stress now that I'm well balanced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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